True Meaning of Friendship
by LadyRaven-321
Summary: Kenny saves Craig from near death. This has Craig feeling he owes a huge debt to him. His chance may come when the Cult of Cthulu kidnaps the immortal child and somehow strips him of his memory.
1. Hero

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone - I'm back. Well, I could not resist...I wrote another Kenny centric story. This time it has a little 'crenny' side to it. Nothing 'romantic', _I don't think_, but there will be a forming bond between them. Please enjoy this story and I look forward to any of your reviews on it.

**Disclaimer:** The characters of 'South Park' are created, and owned by Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

**Summary:** Kenny saves Craig from near death. This has Craig feeling he owes a huge debt to him. His chance may come when the Cult of Cthulhu kidnaps the immortal child and somehow strips him of his memory.

**Chapter One - Hero**

Regardless that it was a sunny day; the weather was cold, especially for February. The temperature was -11 degrees Celsius. Most of the civilians of South Park were getting off work and heading to the warmth of their homes. However, two young children braved the winter air, walking down a residential street, hand-in-hand.

Karen cuddled her doll closer to her chest as if it was able to produce heat through her thin green jacket. When that didn't seem to work she walked closer to her brother's side.

"_Brr_," she shivered.

"It's ok, Karen. We are almost at your friend's house." Kenny muttered through his orange hooded parka. He was able to tolerate the cold a bit better than his little sister could.

"Thanks for walking me, Kenny." She cooed. "I'm sure mom or dad would have been able to drop me off, but mom got a call to work at the Olive Garden tonight, and dad had to do something too."

"I know, Karen. At least they are trying more now than they did in the past." Her older brother acknowledged with a nod.

There was a brief pause before Kenny spoke again. "You have everything you need for the sleepover?"

"Yup," the young girl chirped. "It's all in my backpack."

They finally stopped in front of a purple house with yellow window frames.

"This is where your friend lives?" Kenny asked, pointing at the house.

"Uh-huh," Karen nodded an affirmative.

With that, the two of them walked up to the door. Kenny reached for the doorbell, and pushed it to ring for attention. A moment passed before someone opened the door from the inside.

A little girl about Karen's age and height stood in of them. She had curly jet-black hair that reached her shoulders. With a wide grin, she waved at Karen.

"Hi Karen, you made it!" She cheered.

"Have fun, Karen." Kenny waved as his little sister stepped into the warm house.

"Bye, Kenny." She called out before the door closed.

A cold breeze blew by, and felt as if it went right through Kenny's entire body. He shivered as a result. Figuring he shouldn't stand around, Kenny continued on walking home. He decided to take a short cut through Stark's Pond.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Meanwhile, Craig focused so much in the video game he played on with Clyde that he failed to notice the time. He finally glanced out the window and realized that it was getting darker out.

"Oh crap," he spat as he dropped his controller and leapt off the couch. "I gotta go if I want to get home before dinner."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay till my dad gets home. I'm sure he can drive you?" Clyde offered.

"That's ok," Craig dismissed the offer with the wave of his hand. "I don't live far...just on the other side of Stark's Pond. Besides, if I'm late my mom will have my hide."

The stoic boy rushed to grab his coat, and shoved his feet into his black boots before turning to open the front door.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you at school on Monday then." Clyde sighed as he sauntered up to him.

"Yup, see ya." Craig nodded before heading out in the freezing cold.

By the time he reached the end of the block, Craig regretted heading home before Mr. Donovan would be around to drive him. The icy breeze bit at his nose as he entered Stark's Pond. The sun almost was out of sight, however, the trees surrounding the park made the area much darker, and harder to see the path in front of him. Figuring he'd get home faster, not to mention, building natural body heat, Craig decided to start running through the darkening path.

He got half way when something jumped out of the bush on his left. It was a squirrel, but considering the lack of light, Craig assumed it was a dangerous beast.

With a yelp, Craig jumped to his right, stumbled and tripped over a root sticking up from the ground. He landed then slid a few feet on a cold flat surface.

The boy looked up to see the small animal with a bushy tail watching him from on top of a rock.

"Stupid squirrel," he spat bitterly.

The second he moved to get up, he heard a loud crack underneath him. Craig's breath hitched once he realized he was eight feet out on the frozen boating lake. Apparently, he managed to slide over a weak spot of the ice and it was failing to support his weight.

"Oh no..._no-no-no-no-no_..." Craig sputtered in a panic.

Each delicate move Craig attempted to make just caused the ice beneath him to break apart faster. Before Craig could move a foot forward to shore, the ice crumbled and he fell into the freezing water.

The boy let out a scream and yelled, "_**Help**_!"

Unable to breath-hold properly, he accidently swallowed some water when his head submerged. Craig felt instant cold shock once the freezing water soaked entirely through his clothes. Somehow, he managed to rise back up to the surface. He took in a bit of oxygen through choking coughs. When he opened his eyes, Craig thought he saw an orange blur running down the path towards the pond.

Kenny gasped when he saw Craig's head go under water again. He feared the worse, but didn't waste another second. Kenny took a leap of faith and skidded on the ice towards the drowning boy. Once he got close enough, Kenny lied flat on his stomach and extended his hand out.

Craig came back up, choking for air again. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw Kenny reach out to him.

"Take my hand!" Kenny's words muffled out in a desperate cry.

With a shaky hand, Craig extended his arm to the poor boy. The second Craig's hand got close enough; Kenny grabbed onto it and dragged his frozen body out of the water. It worried the orange clad boy how Craig's entire body shivered violently while he hyperventilated in choking breath. His skin was paler, and his lips were even looking a little blue.

Kenny slid the cold boy back to the shore, and dragged him up onto land. Craig managed to open his eyes a crack to look up at his savior.

"It's going to be ok." Kenny told him as he took off his parka.

He unzipped Craig's blue coat before pulling him up to slip on his orange parka over his shoulders and covering his head with the hood. Kenny turned, and pulled Craig up onto his back. The unzipped jacket allowed Kenny's body heat to reach Craig's chest for a little warmth.

The freezing moisture from Craig's cloths soaked through Kenny's thin white T-shirt and down his legs in a hurry. The blond boy shivered as a result.

"Sh-sh-_shit_, that's c-cold," he stuttered through chattering teeth before glancing over his shoulder and added, "G-good thing you don't live f-f-far from here."

Craig opened his eyes slightly and let out a low shaky groan in reply.

As briskly as he could, Kenny carried Craig out of the park and towards the next residential block down the path ahead.

Fifteen minutes felt more like fifteen hours to the two boys as they finally reached Craig's house. Kenny, at this point felt a minor case of hypothermia due his now frozen backside. He lifted his left arm, allowing Craig's leg to slide down his side. Not giving it much concern, Kenny instead banged desperately on the door until someone finally opened it.

Mrs. Tucker looked down at the two shivering boys looking back up at her. She recognized her child, and let out a scream.

"_**Craig**_!" She screeched, reaching down to relieve her drenched son off Kenny's back.

She was about to close the door when she noticed the blond boy hugging himself as he shivered outside. Mrs. Tucker realized at that point, he was only wearing a white T-shirt over his upper body and that it was soaking wet down his back. Mrs. Tucker glanced down at her son in her arms and saw the orange parka covering him. Instantly, she brought her attention back to the boy.

"Get in, hurry!" She ordered.

With a simple grateful nod, Kenny forced his legs to move forward into the warm house.

**OoOoOoOoOoOo **

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I am not sure how often I will be able to update (the goal is every week, but if I am delayed that means I am busy with a project.) So, post your comments and 'follow' this story for soon-to-be more action packed chapters.

Thank you :)


	2. A Home-Cooked Meal

**Chapter Two - A Home-Cooked Meal**

Nancy Tucker led Kenny upstairs as she carried her semi conscious son in her arms. She moved quickly towards the bathroom when she started to hear Craig coughing up some lake water. The tall blond woman stopped and turned to Kenny.

"Wait here," she instructed him.

The little blond boy nodded as he rubbed the numbness out from his arms. Kenny felt concerned when he heard Craig's cough became louder and the sound of fluid been ejected. The gross vomit sound was making Kenny cringe in disgust. Then he heard a sound that he thought he'd never hear - the sound of Craig crying.

"Come on Craig; let's get these wet things off of you." Mrs. Tucker's voice softened as Craig continued to whimper and sob.

A moment passed before Kenny heard the toilet been flushed, and Mrs. Tucker walked out of the bathroom with her trembling son, wearing nothing but a large towel around him. Nancy glanced down at Kenny on her way into the hall.

"Let's get you into some dry clothes as well." She suggested.

Without a word, Kenny followed them into Craig's room. Mrs. Tucker sat Craig on his bed and went straight to his dresser. She pulled out two pajama bottoms, and long-sleeved tops. In the next drawer, Craig's mother grabbed two pairs of woolly socks.

She turned to Kenny, whom stood at the bedroom doorframe with the uncertainty if he should come all the way in, or not.

"Here. You can put these on." Mrs. Tucker noticed Kenny hesitant in taking the pajamas and socks from her. With a reassuring smile, she added. "It's ok, I'm sure Craig won't mind you borrowing his clothes till yours can dry off. Now take them and go change in the bathroom - leave your wet clothes and I mean all of them, including socks and underwear, on the pile that's on the floor."

"Ok," Kenny replied in a quiet voice.

After when Kenny took the clothes and headed down the hall, Mrs Tucker sauntered back to Craig. He was still sniffing back a few remaining tears, as he attempted to keep himself warm with towel. She placed the Red Racer pajama bottoms and socks on the bed. With the top still in her hand, his mother pushed it down over his head. As she guided each of his arms through the long sleeves, she looked at him in the eyes in a serious manner.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened to you? Why were you soaking wet, and why did that other boy carry you home?" Nancy spoke in a hardened nasally tone.

Unable to control himself, Craig began sobbing again. A little frustrated, Nancy grabbed his upper arms and shook him lightly.

"Stop that!" She barked. "Stop crying and tell me _truthfully_! What happened?"

It took a few attempts for Craig to control his sobs. He rubbed his eyes and nose with the towel before finally explaining what had happened.

"I _w_-was at Clyde's house and l _l_-lost track of _t-t_-time, so I _r-_ran home." His words stuttered as his body shook uncontrollably. He paused as he thought carefully on events that followed.

"Ok, what happened next?" Nancy asked as she helped her son into his pajama pants.

"_W_-when I r-ran through Stark's _P-p_-pond," Craig continued, "an animal _j_-jumped out at me and-and I tripped, and landed on _t_-the ice. The ice _br_-broke before I could get _b-b_-back to shore, and I _f-f_-fell in the _w_-water."

Mrs. Tucker finished pulling on Craig's socks to look at her son in the eyes. "Oh Craig..." she nurtured him by stroking his hair back gently.

"I r-remember drowning and-and I c-couldn't get out." The raven-haired boy sounded like he was on the verge of crying once again. The horrifying memory led him to realize how close he was to death. "_Th-_that is when I _s-s_-saw Kenny grabbing me and _p-p_-pulling me out."

"Sounds like you were lucky that boy was around," Nancy nodded. "I'm going to get some blankets." She added, patting her emotional son on the head. As she got up, Nancy grabbed the damp towel off the bed before walking towards the hall.

The second his mother left the room, Craig curled his knees up to his chest and allowed a few tears to fall freely down his cheeks. He lowered his forehead as he shivered once more. A sob escaped from his throat, before he felt someone looking at him.

Craig re-opened his eyes and looked up to see Kenny at the bedroom door. He had on Craig's spaceship pajamas. Kenny looked rather concerned towards the raven-haired boy. Craig, however, frowned and narrowed his eyes at him.

"_A_-are you going to _t_-tell everyone at school about _t_-this?" He snapped at the blond boy. "Are you going to _s_-say how I started _cr_-crying?"

Kenny glanced down at the floor. His frown grew longer. After a moment, he looked back up at Craig.

"I'm not Cartman, Craig. I won't tell anyone about this, I promise." He said in a soft, gentle voice.

That was when Craig noticed Kenny shaking too. He began remembering, once again, that his classmate risked his life by braving the icy lake, and pulled him out of the water. Not only that, but he took off his own jacket to cover him up. Then Kenny used some of his own body heat from his back to warm his frozen chest until they made it to his house.

Craig felt an enormous weight of guilt pressing down in the pit of his stomach. It was unfair of him to speak down to Kenny like that. Before he could say an apology, Mrs. Tucker walked back in with two fleece blankets.

"Here you go, wrap yourself in this." She instructed to Kenny as she handed him a yellow blanket.

Kenny took it, and did as told. He wrapped the blanket over his head and shoulders. The blanket was bigger than he was, so it draped on the floor around his feet. Kenny hugged himself in the newfound warmth from the yellow fleece; he ended up covering his mouth too. With a deep breath, he inhaled the fresh clean smell of the blanket.

Mrs. Tucker walked up to Craig, and wrapped him up in a baby blue fleece blanket.

"Ok, let's get you boys downstairs, and we can call your parents Kenny." She said, picking up her son.

Kenny muttered something through the fuzzy cloth material. Nancy turned to the boy and looked at him questioningly.

"What was that?" She asked.

The little boy lowered his arms so his mouth was free to speak more clearly.

"I said my parents aren't home. My mom is working at the Olive Garden tonight, and my dad had to go out somewhere. Both of them won't be home till late."

Nancy's jaw dropped in shock. "Who... who's looking after you...? An older brother...? Sister...?"

Kenny let out a small sigh, before he spoke again. "My older brother is hanging out with his friends, and I dropped my little sister at a one of her friend's sleepover party."

"So what you are saying is that _no one_ is at home right now." Nancy confirmed. Kenny nodded an affirmative.

"Alright," she sighed loudly. "It's settled then, you will stay here till we can contact your parents."

Without saying anything, Kenny followed Mrs. Tucker back downstairs. She placed Craig comfortably on the couch and pointed at the empty spot beside him.

"Sit," she ordered the poor boy.

Right away, Kenny crawled up onto the couch and sat by Craig's shivering body, Nancy nodded approvingly. She picked up a remote control and turned on the TV. She then handed it to Kenny.

"Here, you two watch some TV while I go make some hot coco, and finish making dinner." She announced before heading to the kitchen.

Kenny lifted the remote and clicked channel one level up and saw a Sponge Bob cartoon was on.

"This ok...?" He asked Craig.

Craig, who wasn't even looking at the TV lifted his eyes off the floor to glance up at the blond boy. He gave a brief nod before casting his eyes back down on the floor. The guilty feeling in his stomach made Craig realize that Kenny deserved to know he's appreciated. The raven-haired boy opened his mouth and turned his head to Kenny.

"I'm sorry!" Craig blurted out sharply.

Kenny removed his eyes from the TV to look back at Craig curiously.

Feeling he needed to elaborate, Craig continued. "I mean, upstairs. What I said, _I-_I didn't mean it."

Craig paused as he thought of what else he wanted to say. His shoulders shivered, so he tugged the blanket tighter around him. Kenny glanced away, feeling somewhat awkward.

"Thank you. I owe you my life." Craig spoke up again.

Kenny had to smile at that then shook his head. "That's ok," He shrugged. "You don't have to owe me anything."

"I'm serious," the raven-haired boy inched himself a bit closer to the poor boy. "You need anything... Anything at all, no matter how small or how big it is, you just ask me ok."

Craig's over eccentric behaviour left Kenny feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Kenny was used Craig's usual stoic nature. The look in Craig's eyes made him seem desperate, as well as, scared. Not only that, but he was shivering again. It made Kenny feel sorry for him. He stretched out his arms, offering Craig to share the space in the yellow blanket.

"Sure," that was all Kenny said. Craig leaned in against the blond boy as he wrapped his arms around his slowly thawing body.

The front door opened, and Mr. Tucker, along with Craig's little sister Ruby, came walking inside the house.

"Hey, we are back from Ruby's dance class! What's for dinner?" Thomas Tucker shouted as he took off his shoes and coat.

He turned to notice the two boys hugging and wrapped up in fleece blankets. Thomas raised his eyebrow, as Ruby started giggling at the sight of them. Realizing the situation, Craig and Kenny blushed and gradually pulled apart from each other.

"What the Hell is going here?" Thomas demanded. He looked over at his wife as she walked out of the kitchen with two cups of hot instant coco in her hands.

"I'll explain it to you in the kitchen." She said. Nancy turned to her daughter and added, "Ruby go upstairs and get ready for dinner."

The blond woman leaned over and handed the cups of coco to the boys. "Here you go. Drink up. Dinner will be done shortly." She said sweetly.

"Is that hot coco?" Ruby asked, bouncing up and down. "I want some too!"

"Explain _what_ to me, Nancy?" Thomas wondered, scratching his head in confusion.

"Thomas, kitchen, now! Ruby, stairs, go!" The woman barked. She obviously lacked patience.

With a sulk, Ruby stomped up the stairs. Thomas scowled and crossed his arms. He followed his wife into the kitchen.

Craig looked over to Kenny, and the blond boy glanced at him. The two boys sipped their hot coco without a single word been exchanged.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Tucker family and Kenny sat at the dinner table, enjoying spaghetti and homemade meat sauce.

Kenny had spaghetti before. Sometimes his mom would buy some because it was cheap, even better, if it was on sale at the grocery store. Usually the sauce she got with it was just plain tomato sauce. It didn't taste at all like he was eating now.

The meat sauce was made with real ground beef, a bountiful amount of vegetables, and different herbs. Though the Tucker family often struggled financially, especially during the slow work periods, it would seem that Mrs. Tucker knew how to make the most of what little they could buy at the grocery store.

Not realizing how hungry he really was, Kenny was almost finished his plate when he realized most of the Tucker family barely ate half. It was then he started to slow down a bit and savor the flavor of the sauce a bit more.

Craig slowly sucked in a noodle from his plate. He still was quite groggy from his near death experience. He still had the blanket draped over his shoulders for extra warmth. The stoic boy glanced up at Kenny as the end of the noodle finally made it into his mouth. He realized, at that moment, Kenny was nothing like Stan, Kyle, and especially Cartman. It rather bothered him now knowing that many students in class, not just his 'friends', took advantage of the poor boy. Kenny seemed to do anything anyone asked of him, and without even asking for anything in return. He almost hated himself for not caring about this before. Craig's father interrupted his thoughts when his loud voice spoke up.

"So, ah, Kenny is it?" Thomas said after a long period of awkward silence.

Everyone, including Kenny, looked up at the tall balding redheaded man.

"You're one of Stuart McCormick's boys, right?" He asked bluntly.

"Yes sir," Kenny replied in a quiet shy voice. He slowly spun his fork in the spaghetti, tangling a bundle of noodles around the prongs.

Thomas shook his fork in the air, as he said, "Aren't you the one that caused a garbage can to explode behind the school last month?"

Kenny froze before the he could put the fork full of spaghetti into his mouth. He slowly lowered the noodles back down to his plate. The look on his face showed embarrassment and regret.

It was true that Kenny was playing around foolishly that day. He realized his error with mixing oxidizing acids, and paper, and mentally promised himself not to do that again. The explosion could have hurt someone, not to mention, killing him in the process. It was certainly one of his 'lucky' moments. Having Thomas remind him of that incident, though, left him with no more appetite to finish his meal.

"Thomas!" Mrs. Tucker spat.

"What? I'm trying to make small talk." He said in defense.

"By accusing him of something that happened a month ago...? He's our guest, and you will treat him as such." Nancy retorted.

Craig noticed the guilty look on Kenny's face, and decided to say something.

"Besides, it wasn't Kenny that caused that explosion," he lied.

Kenny blinked up at him in surprise. No one had lied for him before.

"Oh? Who was it then?" Thomas asked his son.

The question left Craig unprepared. He opened his mouth then closed it before opening it again. "I-I don't know. Someone else from our class..." He thought up as quickly as he could.

"Oh," The father paused for a moment as a wave of guilt washes over him. "My apologies, Kenny," he bowed his head to the blond boy.

Kenny did not say anything. He just looked up at the man in a shy manner.

"Would you like more spaghetti, Kenny?" Nancy asked politely.

The young McCormick child shook his head. "No thank you. I'm getting full."

"Well, I hope you left a little room for desert." She smiled hopefully.

Ruby gasped loudly. "Wow, what are we having?"

"Instant Chocolate Mousse," the mother answered simply.

Craig snagged another noodle with his fork and brought it up to his mouth. He glanced up at Kenny that was watching him with a still stunned expression. Knowing what the other boy was thinking, Craig simply shrugged as if giving his answer to the unasked question.


	3. I Am an Immortal

**Chapter Three - I Am an Immortal**

Thomas sat at the kitchen table glaring at the phone in his hand. His wife just finished washing the last dish in the sink and picked up a towel to dry her hands. She turned to look up at the wall clock then down at her husband.

"It's been twenty minutes," Nancy told him. "Maybe try now."

"I can't believe it is almost nine O'clock and no one is home yet." Thomas grumbled.

"Well, someone has to be home soon. Kenny did say they would be home late." The blond woman reasoned.

"Fine," Mr. Tucker sighed through gritted teeth.

He dialed the number again. It rang four times before a male voice answered.

_"Hello,"_ Stuart answered, his voice sounded groggy.

"Ah, hey Stuart, it's Thomas. I just want to let you know your boy is at our house."

_"Oh great, what has that little shit done this time?"_ Mr. McCormick grumbled.

Thomas opened his mouth in shock, unsure of how to respond to Stuart's comment about his own child.

"Well, you're son has saved ours earlier this evening, and since it is already late, Nancy and I were wondering if it be ok if Kenny just stayed the night." He finally said.

_"Oh you are talking about Kenny."_ Stuart forced out a laugh before adding, _"I thought for a second it was Kevin. Sure, he can stay the night. I'll come by in the morning before picking up Karen at her friends."_

"Ok, sounds good. Talk to you tomorrow then, thanks." Thomas sang before he hung up the phone.

Mr. and Mrs. Tucker smiled at each other in relief before Nancy placed the dishtowel on the counter, and walked out into the living room.

The Tucker kids and Kenny sat on the couch watching a movie. Craig's eyes drooped heavily as his head gradually tilted over towards the cushion beside him.

Mrs. Tucker walked up to them.

"Kenny," she said. "We finally got hold of your father. He said it is ok you stay the night here."

"Ok," the little blond boy nodded.

Nancy noticed her son, barely keeping his eyes open. She was about to say something directly to him when she caught Kenny stifling a yawn as well. With a sigh, Nancy knelt down to stroke her son's head, and looked up at Kenny in a nurturing manner.

"By the looks of things maybe you two can finish this movie tomorrow and get some sleep now." She said in a motherly way.

"The movie is almost over, just ten more minutes." Craig muttered in a half-sleepy tone.

"Alright, ten more minutes. Then all three of you must get to bed." Nancy instructed before standing up and walked back to the kitchen.

"Awe," Ruby moaned.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sure enough, ten minutes had passed before the end credits scrolled up from the movie. That was Nancy and Thomas's cue to escort all three children upstairs. As the boys, followed by Mrs. Tucker, walked into Craig's room, Mr. Tucker took Ruby to hers.

The tall blond woman pulled back the blankets and ushered the two boys to crawl into bed.

"Ok, in you go." She ordered.

With no arguments, Craig and Kenny did as told. The moment the two of them lied comfortably beside each other, Mrs. Tucker covered them up with the warm blanket.

"Good night, you two." She said before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Both boys had their eyes closed and appeared to be almost asleep. Craig forced eyes to open as he turned his head towards Kenny.

"Why did you do it, Kenny? Why did you save me? You could have died you know." He said in a monotone voice.

Kenny blinked his eyes open and glanced back at Craig.

"You didn't think of that, did you?" The raven-haired boy deduced. "You just jumped right on the ice and a slid out to where I was, and pulled me out."

Again, Kenny lied there blinking silently at Craig.

"During that whole time did you ever wonder what would happen if the ice didn't supported you as you were rescuing me? What would you have done if you fell in too? Did it ever occur to you that you might have died trying to save me?"

"Yes," Kenny answered flatly.

Craig froze; he did not expect Kenny's immediate response.

"You were in danger Craig, I had to do something." The blond boy continued. "Sure I could have stopped to call someone, but by the time any help may have shown up, it would have been too late."

It was Craig's turn to lie there and blink back at Kenny.

"As for the possibility of me dying, well, yeah...that could have happened. I'm no stranger to situations like that."

"You tend to take risks like that a lot?" Craig asked.

"Not a lot, sometimes I'm just walking across the fuckin' street and death comes and kicks me the ass." Kenny replied bitterly before letting out a big yawn.

"Oh," the young Tucker boy nodded. He stopped when something about Kenny's last sentence didn't make sense. "Wait, what?"

Kenny finished yawning before looking back at Craig.

"What did you mean by death kicking you in the ass?"

"It just means I've experience death a lot, but I end up coming back." Kenny answered. He had realized he must have been quite tired to give Craig that much information.

"You're not making any sense." Craig shook his head slowly from side to side. "I don't think anyone can come back from the dead, unless they were Vampires or Zombies."

It was at that moment that Kenny felt he had to tell Craig the truth, even if he knew the other boy would not believe him.

"I can't die, Craig." He clarified. "Any time I was ever killed, I end up just coming back. You know, waking up in my old bed, and wearing my old cloths."

He paused when he recognized the same puzzled expressions that his friends would have anytime he tried to explain his accursed powers to them.

With a loud sigh, he continued. "Look you don't have to believe me if you don't want to. I don't even know why I'm telling you this. It is all rather crazy. Even I don't get it."

The boys were quiet for a moment as Craig absorbed Kenny's words.

"Ok, so let's say this is all true - why isn't there evidence that it happened?" Craig finally asked.

Kenny coughed out a laugh. "That is the funny part. No one ever remembers... Well, except my parents for some reason."

The blond boy turned his head to look up at the ceiling. A brief silence filled the room before Kenny spoke up again.

"Look, I don't know how to explain this any better. I have no clue what I am - I just know I'm different from everyone else."

Craig struggled to keep his eyes open. He realized would not be able to fight sleep any longer.

"Ah," was all he said before he rolled over. "G'Night," he sighed before falling asleep.

Kenny rolled over so he was facing the wall. He pulled up the covers so they covered most of his face.

"Good night," he muttered through the sheets.


	4. Craig's New Attitude

**Chapter Four - Craig's New Attitude**

Carol walked out from the kitchen. The young mother had an irritated look on her face as she began to bang on Kenny's door.

"Kenny, Kenny! It's Monday! Get your buns out of bed! You don't want to miss the bus for school!" She yelled.

Mrs. McCormick waited for the usual mumble and groan before hearing the rustling sound of her son getting out of bed. Confident that Kenny will be dressed and ready for school soon, Carol headed back into the kitchen. She spotted her husband glaring out of the window.

"What are you looking at?" The redheaded woman demanded.

"That black car parked across the street." He mumbled to her.

Carol leaned forward and looked out of the window to see the strange vehicle in question.

"That's weird. Wonder who owns it?" She asked.

"I don't know," Stuart responded flatly. "But doesn't it look familiar to you?"

Mrs. McCormick huffed as she forced her fists onto her hips. "No, and don't you have anything better to do then glare outside this window at strange cars parked outside?" She snapped.

"I'm not glaring, you stupid bitch!" He barked back in defence. "I just asked if it looked familiar, that's all!"

"You are glaring, and don't call me a bitch, asshole!" Carol spat back as she swung her fist into his face.

Kenny walked in as the fighting begun to get serious. He instantly rolled his eyes skyward and turned to walk back out. The young boy noticed that his brother and sister had already left, and figuring he didn't want to miss his bus, Kenny pursued without grabbing his lunch or any food stamps. As he left the rundown shack, he could hear his parents bicker loudly with each other.

Before Kenny reached the train tracks, he noticed a black Chevrolet with tinted windows. He saw two figures sitting inside, but could not see any of their faces. With a shrug, Kenny continued across the tracks towards the bus stop. The sound of more screaming, and shattering glass blared inside the McCormick home.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Kenny just made it to the bus stop with seconds to spare before the school bus showed up. Stan, Kyle, and Cartman each say 'good morning' to him before hopping onto the bus. The second Kenny was on he heard someone calling out his name.

"Kenny over here," Craig shouted from one of the middle seats. The usual stoic boy practically leapt up in the air as he waved his hand to grab the poor boy's attention.

"Geez Craig, how much sugar did you put in your cereal this morning?" Cartman snickered as he sat down beside Butters in the seat behind the blue-clad boy. Butters giggled at Eric's joke.

"Hey Craig, what's up?" Kenny asked before accepting the seat by the raven-haired boy.

"Obviously he is," Eric Cartman muttered, loud enough for Butters to hear. This set the blond boy in another fit of giggles.

"Well, for starters, my dad got three first class seats to a big game tonight from his boss. You wanna come?" Craig asked, getting right to the point.

"Wow cool, yeah I'm in!" Kenny cheered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."Eric sputtered as he leaned up against the back of the seat in front of him. He looked down directly at Craig. "You mean to tell me your dad scored tickets to the big basket ball game tonight?"

"Yes, and you aren't coming fatass!" Craig sneered

"What? That's not fair," Cartman cried in outrage. "Why does Kenny get to go?"

"Because I just asked him, idiot." Craig spat back in a matter of fact.

Kenny could not help to find Craig's comment amusing and let out a chuckle.

"Unbelievable," Cartman muttered in distaste. "The nerve of some people..." he added as he sat back down in his seat.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

By the time lunch hour came around, Kenny's stomach growled like a pair of cats in heat. At one point, it got so loud that entire class started laughing. Mr. Garrison mentioned he was not happy with the interruptions his class was getting by Kenny's noisy tummy.

Cartman began to make several 'poor' jokes at his expense, which caused more laughter from the class, all except Craig. He looked like he wanted to punch Cartman's lights out. Kenny became quite embarrassed and was relieved when the bell tone finally rung.

All the students did not hesitate to leave their seats and headed towards the cafeteria. Some of them carried their own personal lunch boxes from home.

"Hey _Kinny_, I don't see your regular baloney sandwich. Hope you were able to bring enough food stamps to get a slice of crusty day old pizza." Cartman asked while stifling a laugh.

"No," Kenny sighed through his orange hood. "I didn't get time to grab either this morning."

"Oh, so it'll be your usual glass of water then." Again, Eric sputtered a laugh, but he stopped abruptly by an elbow jab to the ribs. "Ow Craig, what the hell...?"

Craig walked past the arrogant heavy child, ignoring his comment completely, to start walking by Kenny's side.

"It's alright, I'll spot you lunch today." He told him.

"Wow that is really generous of you, Craig." Kyle commented.

"Yeah dude," Stan added. "I don't think I have ever seen you this nice to anyone before."

"Ah, it's nothing." Craig shrugged nonchalantly. He gave a warm smile to Kenny.

"Um thanks," Kenny said, trying to hide the sudden blush on his cheeks.

As soon as the children found a table to sit at, they all began to eat. Craig and Kenny got their food from the line and headed to the table where Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Butters, Clyde, and Token sat.

"So Craig," Cartman began as chewed through his food. "Why the sudden kindness to Kenny? I mean, first this morning you ask him to the basket ball game tonight..."

"What? You guys are going to the game tonight?" Stan interrupted with full interest in the conversation.

"Dude, how did you score the tickets to that game?" Kyle asked with perked ears.

"My dad's new job," Craig answered. "His boss gave him the tickets."

"...And you are taking Kenny - not me, or Token?" Clyde pouted.

"Yeah man, usually we go to the game together." Token added with a look of concern.

"Sorry," the stoic boy shrugged. He picked up his slice of pizza and began to bit into it.

The boys sat dumbfounded for a moment as they watched the two boys eat their pizza slices.

"Now you are buying Kenny lunch..." Cartman pointed out.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Butters asked in wonder.

"Nothing why?" Craig murmured with another shrug. He glanced over at Kenny as the orange-clad boy opened up his carton of milk, and when the poor boy noticed him, Craig smiled at him again.

"Oh, I get it..." Cartman perked up.

Everyone looked up to hear what the larger boy had to say.

"You're gay for _Kinny_!" He howled with laughter, banging his hand hard onto the table.

Kenny nearly choked on the milk as he tried to swallow.

"Oh yeah," Butters snickered.

"Is that true?" Clyde asked in shock.

"No!" Craig gasped.

"Oh, you totally are, don't deny it." Cartman said between snickers.

"Cartman shut the hell up. You don't know what you are talking about." Craig spat.

"Kenny?" Stan wondered.

"Dude, trust me. I am not gay." The blond boy waved his hands up in defence.

"Yeah, we're just friends, alright." Craig growled.

"Sure Craig, why don't you go suck on _Kinny's_ balls some more." Cartman snorted.

Kenny did not say anything, except to let out a loud sigh of annoyance.

Craig groaned as he slammed his forehead onto the table surface. He crashed his head so hard that his plate and milk carton jumped slightly.

"Ow," he moaned.


	5. The Unexpected Visitors

**Author's Note: **I wish to take a moment to thank all of those that posted a review and are following this story. I appreciate all of your support.

Stay Creative everyone!

**Chapter Five - The Unexpected Visitors**

Mr. Tucker drove out of the Basket Ball stadium in Denver. He looked up at the rear view mirror and spotted his son, Craig and his friend Kenny sitting in the back seat. The two boys appeared to still be hyperactive from the game they just seen. He had to smile at their sword 'fight' with the giant foam fingers.

"That certainly was an exciting game, wasn't it boys?" The balding redheaded man asked them.

"It sure was," Craig agreed.

"Uh-huh," nodded Kenny, his big blue eyes shone brightly.

"Kenny, I'm glad your parents were ok with us taking you tonight. I realize it was short notice." Thomas grinned.

"Yeah, it's ok. They pretty much let me do what I want." Kenny shrugged.

"Wow, if my parents were as cool as yours, I would be _sooo_ happy." Craig smiled.

"Craig, that'd better be a joke." His father asked with a disapproving tone.

"Yes sir, sorry..." The raven-haired boy frowned. Kenny giggled, and Craig once again smiled at him.

They drove for almost an hour and thirty-seven minutes before arriving back to South Park. Mr. Tucker pulled up alongside a black Chevrolet, and stopped in front of the McCormick's rundown home in the poorest section of the small town. Thomas looked sceptical when he noticed the lights were out inside the home.

"Hm, doesn't look like anyone is home." The man wondered. He was about to continue with a suggestion to Kenny when he spotted some movement inside. "Oh, never mind. I see your dad, I think." Thomas said. He had to squint to see the silhouette of a man standing by the window.

"The power might be out, again." Kenny grumbled.

"Ok then." Thomas nodded. "You'll be alright?" He asked the young boy.

"Yeah," Kenny nodded before opening the door and jumping out of the car, unintentionally leaving behind his foam finger

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, Kenny." Craig called out to him.

"Uh-huh, thanks." The blond boy cheered before closing the door and headed up to the front door of his home.

With a sigh, he wondered if his parents had forgotten to pay the bills again. It would not surprise him if he were to walk inside to find them either high on something, or so drunk that they passed out on the couch. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Tucker's vehicle drive off. Kenny took in another deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to see. He reached up to turn the knob before opening the door.

The second he took a step inside he stopped. What he saw was not what he expected. Instead of see his parents fighting, or passed out, he saw them, and his brother and sister, tied up and gagged on the couch. Before Kenny had a chance to react, someone pushed him from behind. He stumbled all the way inside, and heard the door been slammed shut.

"Welcome Kenny," a man holding a gun said. Most of his face was shadowed in darkness. The only thing visible was the crooked grin on his face. "We've been waiting for you."

Another man came in from the shadows, also holding a gun in his hand.

"What the hell is this?" Kenny demanded.

"We just stopped by to collect our precious key." The first man said.

Kenny didn't have any time to move before he heard the familiar bang of the gun going off behind his head. He blacked out and died out before he even had hit the floor.

The McCormick family all screamed in terror as they watched their son, and brother fell.

"Oh spare me the mellow dramatic." The first man sighed, walking up to the family. The second man and a third man appeared from the shadows, walked up behind him. "You all know as much as we do that this child is not what he seems. He is special, and we simply have come to collect what belongs to us. The Cult of Cthulhu will be most interested to know their key has returned."

He turned to his partners and pointed to the redheaded woman. "Grab her and let's go." He demanded.

Stuart tried to break free and attack the men; however, one of them used the handle of his gun to smack him over the head. Mr. McCormick fell back in his seat, blood trickled from the fresh wound on his forehead, but he remained conscious. He watched in terror as the two men grabbed his wife and lifted her off the couch.

The moment Carol was on her feet, she began fighting them. She started by body checking one of them so he'd fall to the floor, and then kicked the other man in the balls. As the third man kneeled down to the floor in agony, Mrs. McCormick turned and was about to kick the man she body-checked. She heard the first man say something to her - grabbing her attention.

"Please stop this Mrs. McCormick," the first man said in a calm voice.

Carol turned and immediately her eyes grew wide. The man pointed his gun at her daughter's head.

"We wouldn't want the same fate to befall on your other two children, do we?" He smiled wickedly. "If I'm correct, they aren't as 'special' as Kenny."

The young mother's tears trickled down her cheeks as she saw her family's scared features starring back up at her.

"Alright, now that we have this understanding, let's go." The man instructed. He shook his weapon towards to door.

Carol sobbed as the other two men grabbed her arms, and guided her out of the home.

"I bid you all adieu," the man saluted Mr. McCormick and his two surviving children. "Good evening."

He left the room and closed the front door on his way out.

Stuart looked down at Kenny's lifeless body, then to the door in which he last saw his wife. He heard the sound of a car's engine revving up, and he let out a howl of despair through his gagged mouth - tears streaming down his face.


	6. Price of a Poor Boy

**Chapter Six - Price of a Poor Boy**

Craig just finished brushing his teeth. He headed out of the bathroom wearing a blue pair of pajamas with rocket ships on it. The young boy stretched out his arms and let out a big yawn before crawling onto his bed. As he was about to grab the covers and pull them up over his body, the buzz of his phone grabbed his attention. He picked up his iphone from the nightstand by his bed and looked at a text message from Cartman.

_Eric Cartman: Dude, not going to believe what happened. Something happened your girlfriend, Kenny. Hahahaha._

"What the..." Craig stared down at the message in puzzlement. "This has to be a joke..." He concluded.

The stoic child was about to put his phone back down when another text message caused his phone to buzz. With an annoyed sigh, he glanced down thinking it was Cartman again, but it wasn't from him, it was from Stan.

_Stan Marsh: OMG! Something happened at Kenny's house. Just standing here watching all the cop cars and ambulances in front of his house._

Craig nearly dropped his phone when he read that message. Downstairs, he heard the house phone ringing, and his father answered it.

Again, his iphone buzzed.

_Kyle Brofloski: Dude! I just heard that someone has taken Kenny and his mother. What the hell is going on?_

Craig started to panic when he read the last message. He leapt out of bed and ran downstairs. Once he got half way down the steps, he overheard his father on the phone.

"I don't believe it; I just dropped him off an hour ago." Mr. Tucker said. "Sure, I'll come right over and talk to the cops." He added before hanging up the phone. The fear read clearly in his eyes.

The tall redheaded man took a few steps towards the door when his son ran up to him.

"I'm coming with you!" Craig cried.

"Craig, stay home ok." His father ordered.

"No," the boy snapped back. "Kenny is my friend. I just got text messages from some of the other guys in class and they are there right now."

"Craig, maybe it is best you stay..." His mother tried to speak, but Craig cut her off.

"Please," he begged. "I need to be there."

"Alright, get your coat. Let's go." Thomas sighed in defeat.

Without hesitation, Craig grabbed his coat and threw it on over his blue pajamas. He quickly put his boots on before running out of the house with his dad.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sure enough, when Thomas and his son arrived at the McCormicks the second time that evening, only this time there were three cop cars flashing their red and blue lights. Police tape fenced off the front entrance of the house indicating for onlookers to stand back.

Thomas and Craig hopped out of the car and ran up to door. Mr. Marsh met them and granted them access inside passed the cops guarding the door. Inside, two agents were dusting everything for fingerprints. At the end of the living room Stan, his sister Shelly, Kyle, and Cartman with their parents stood beside the McCormick kids, Kevin and Karen. They each turned to spot Craig and his father before turning back to what was happening in the kitchen.

Stuart sat at the kitchen table with a bandage wrapped around his forehead. Blood stained through the spot the kidnappers hammered him with the gun handle. The moment the officer beside him asked why they might have taken his son, he realized that everyone that saw Kenny's body been taken away had already forgotten it happened. He just sat there with a blank stare for what seemed like a long time.

"Mr. McCormick," the officer remained calm as he tried to get Stuart's attention back to answering his questions. "Please if there is anything you can tell us that will help us in this investigation, I promise we will do whatever we can to get your wife and son back home safely."

"I-I don't know." Stuart finally answered. Truth was he didn't know how to explain that the kidnappers wanted his son because he was a key to their gate - whatever that meant.

"Does this have anything to do with drugs, or perhaps owing them money?" The officer asked carefully.

"No, no drugs and I don't owe them any money."

"...But according to our file records you were involved with the Colorado drug lord at one time, isn't that correct?" The officer said, looking down at his laptop then back up at Mr. McCormick.

"Yes," Stuart sadly admitted. "...But not anymore. I swear."

"You're sure this has nothing to do with money?" The officer persisted.

"Yes." Stuart could not help to raise his voice slightly in annoyance.

"_Pffft_, good thing too, because we all know poor people don't have any." Cartman snickered.

"Cartman shut the hell up!" Kyle spat.

"This may sound crazy, but Kenny is actually worth a lot more then what money can afford." Stuart muttered just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

The room went quiet for a brief moment. Mostly to process what he said.

"Well, that's hard to believe..." Cartman sputtered another snicker.

"Sweetie, shush!" Liane Cartman hissed down at her son.

"I wonder what me means by that..." Stan wondered.

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense." Kyle added with a shrug.

"It probably means Mr. McCormick finds all of kids special, and would not label a price on any of them. I assure you kids that we as your parents feel the same way, boubbie" Shelia Broflovski counselled addressing her and the other parents around them.

"That's right," Mr. Broflovski agreed.

"Betcha that isn't the reason," Cartman stifled a chuckle.

"Eric, I'm not telling you again." Liane spat, this time slapping her son in the back of the head.

"Thank you Mr. McCormick." The officer nodded. "I think that'll be enough questions for tonight. I think it would be best if you do not stay here tonight. Is there a place where and your kids can go?" The officer suggested.

"Sure, they could stay with us, can't they Sharon?" Randy Marsh stepped in to suggest.

"Yes, of course." Mrs. Marsh nodded.

"Thanks Randy, Sharon." Stuart said softly.

"Anytime," Randy waved off.

"Ok, I would like to talk to, um, Mr. Tucker?" The officer wondered as he stepped up to the other parents.

"Yes," Thomas raised his hand.

"I hear you were the last to see Kenny this evening."

"Um, yes, my boy Craig and I dropped him off after we saw the basket ball game." Mr. Tucker answered.

"Why don't you come and sit down here so we can talk." The officer suggested.

As his dad did as told, something caught Craig's eye. He walked over by the door and noticed on the brown carpet stained blood splotches. There was one question that haunted his mind - who did the blood belonged too?

"Are you wondering whose blood that is?" Kevin McCormick, the eldest boy, asked.

Craig turned with a gasp. He did not expect someone to sneak up on him. Kevin looked down at him with a bit if skepticism.

"I can tell you, if you don't think I'm crazy for saying this." He said.

"W-whose is it?" Craig whispered, pointing down at the blood.

Kevin paused briefly before replying. "Kenny's," he answered simply.

Craig's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"They shot him then took our mom because she can bring him back." The tween boy slurred. He paused to look down at Craig and his shocked expression. "You don't believe me. That's ok." He shrugged.

Before Craig could say anything, Kevin turned and walked back to his emotional little sister.

The entire situation felt like a horrible nightmare that did not make any sense. Craig thought about what Kevin said; suddenly he remembered what Kenny told him the night he rescued him.

_"I can't die, Craig... Any time I was ever killed, I end up just coming back..." _Kenny's words echoed in his head.

Craig wondered if that was why someone kidnapped Kenny and his mother. He wondered if it would be possible for someone like Kenny to die, only to come back. Craig felt sick. He wished he could do something - he owed Kenny for saving his life, so how could he ever return the favor?

Stan, Kyle, and Cartman noticed the ill expression on Craig's face and walked up to him.

"Dude, are you ok?" Stan asked with a concerned tone.

"What?" Craig breathed, looking up at them.

"You're really worried about Kenny too, aren't you?" Kyle guessed.

Craig bit his lower lip as he looked back down at the bloodstains. "Yeah," he replied with a sigh.

"Don't worry dude, I'm sure the cops will find Kenny and get him back." Stan said optimistically.

"Yeah, trust us Craig, your girlfriend - _Kinny_ - he's a lot tougher then he looks. I'm sure you will be sucking his balls again soon." Cartman snickered.

Stan and Kyle each groaned and rolled their eyes over Eric's comment. Craig did not say anything. He kept staring down at the stains on the rug. His thoughts were if it was possible that Kenny could die then come back.


	7. Safe for Now

**Chapter Seven - Safe for Now**

Carol McCormick had been chained up and lying on a bed in a small dark room for the past two days. Before chaining her to the bed, the kidnappers changed her out of her old clothes and into a long plain white pajama gown. They left her there after giving birth to Kenny's reincarnated form with barely any food or water.

She may not be a smart woman, but Carol assumed they wanted her to remain weak while they carried out whatever evil plan they have with her son. Sounds of chanting continued through the thin wooden walls of the old house. The members of the Cult started speaking the same phrase repeatedly the moment they had arrived.

_K'aem'nhi kh'rn K'aem'nhi kh'r K'aem'nhi kh'rmnu. _

_Fha'gnu Zy-d'syn! _

_Si'n Si'ra S'alk! _

_I'a Krell! _

The sound began to drive her mad.

"_**Arg**_!" Carol shouted at the top of her lungs. "_Shut up_, you fuckin' assholes!"

With little surprise, she got no reply.

Carol barely saw where she was headed the entire trip. Even though it was dark, she knew they headed up the mountain. She was surprised that they stopped in front of an old house standing in the middle of the forest. The place looked like an early 1900's home. However, Carol did not care where she was, or how old the place was at all. Only one thing mattered to her - get out and find her son.

Again, she attempted to pull her hands free from the shackles, chained to the bed. Sadly, it was no use. She could not break free. The young Irish woman could try screaming again, but knew that would only get her nowhere fast.

Desperate, she silently prayed to God for help. She promised that she would never drink or do drugs again if she could get her and her son out safe from the Cult of Cthulhu. Tears escaped from her eyes, one-by-one. She feared what would happen, and if the rest of her family were safe.

Without realizing it, the chanting began to dim, as if the people were heading outside. It was at that moment the door suddenly opened, and a cloaked woman stepped in quickly. The movement caught Carol off guard.

"What do you want?" The young redheaded mother hissed through her teeth.

The other woman snapped her hand up and placed a finger over her lips. "Shh, we don't have much time." She warned.

"What are ya talkin' about?" Carol growled.

"I was a fool to have joined this Cult. I thought it would be just a fun gag to pass the time," the woman ranted to herself as she pulled out a key and began to unlock the shackles. "...But it all changed, thanks to the bizarre crap I've witnessed the past few days, and that is including the fact you gave birth to the Key."

"The Key...?" Carol wondered for a brief moment as she jerked her hand free from the unlocked shackle. Rubbing her sore wrists, she then looked up at the other woman with an annoyed expression. "You mean my son, _Kenny_. Where is he?" She demanded.

"He's upstairs. Safe, for now, I promise. Look, I'm sorry. I had no idea they would actually go to this length in the name of Cthulhu." The woman pleaded.

"This is a sick Cult. You should be ashamed of yourself." Carol spat as she allowed the woman to help her onto her feet.

"Hey, from what I hear you and your husband were once members." The young woman accused.

"We were young, stupid, and invited to one of their meetin's. In a result, we ended up with Kenny. Since then we had nothin' to do with these assholes." Carol defended her past.

The two women headed up the creaky steps and walked through the first door on the right. Two men sitting by the bed lied passed out on the floor. Kenny slept peacefully on the bed - looking like a little angel. He wore a white pajama gown like the one his mother had on.

"Kenny," Carol gasped. She ran up to her son and shook him slightly, but he did not wake up.

"Mrs. McCormick, hurry. Those men I drugged won't be out much longer. And the others will be back shortly." The younger woman warned.

Without hesitation, Carol grabbed her boy and followed the female Cult member outside. Looking up at the sky it was nearly dawn, but that did not concern the two young women.

"Quickly," the cloaked woman instructed. "Follow this path and you will end up on a dirt road. Then you must continue down the hill till you reach South Park."

"What about you? Aren't you coming?"

"I have to stall them before they finish the altar. Please you have to hurry. They plan to sacrifice the Key to open the Gates of R'lyeh."

"Sacrifice...?" Carol gasped. She held Kenny tighter to her chest. "You mean they plan on killing my baby?"

"Just go, please. Take your boy somewhere safe!" The woman waved her off.

Carol decided not to argue any more. With her sleeping son held tightly in her arms, she nodded and thanked the woman before running as fast as she could through path.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hours later, at the South Park Elementary school, the second bell rung to indicate the daily lessons were ready to start. The fourth grade students sat down at their assigned seats - chattering to amongst themselves and throwing paper airplanes over their heads. Moments later, their teacher, Mr. Garrison walked in a few minutes later than usual.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up for class..." Cartman remarked.

"Quiet Eric, I have something to share with all of you." Mr. Garrison told the class.

"What is it, Mr. Garrison?" Wendy chirped.

Eric mimicked Wendy's tone of her question by sounding like a murmuring chipmunk. This behaviour earned him a glare from both Wendy and her boyfriend Stan Marsh.

"I said quiet," Mr. Garrison snapped. Once all eyes were on him, he continued. "Listen, they found Kenny and his mother this morning..."

Before he could continue, the class jumped up in their seats with questions.

"What?" Craig snapped up.

"Where did they find them?" Wendy asked.

"Are they ok?" Bebe spoke up.

"How many times did they rap _Kinny_?" Cartman wondered.

"God damn it, Cartman, don't you ever shut the hell up?" Kyle snapped.

"Can we go see them?" Butters asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Stan left his seat and began leading his classmates to the door.

"Sit your asses back down. None of you little bastards are going anywhere!" Mr. Garrison shouted.

"...But we have to go see Kenny." Stan argued.

"Not now." The teacher stood his ground. "They are currently at Hell's Pass Hospital, and the cops and staff are not letting anyone, except family members in to see them. Principal Victoria told me that your parents would come by later to get you when they are allowing visitors. Until then, get back into your seats so we can start on today's lessons."

"Awe..." The children moaned as they shuffled their feet back to their desks.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Shelia Brofloski led Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Craig down the hall of Hell's Pass Hospital, and straight to the room where the McCormicks stayed.

"Alright boys, remember what I said. Don't be surprised if Kenny doesn't recognize you." Mrs. Brofloski began. "When he woke up earlier today he got really scared and didn't remember anyone, not even his mother, or is own name. No one knows why he is like this for sure, but the psychiatrist guessed that he might be emotionally traumatized. He needs you boys to be there for him, ok."

"We understand mom." Kyle assured her.

"Yeah, we are just looking forward to seeing our friend back safely." Stan added.

Shelia nodded at the boys before she stopped in front of the two officers guarding the door to the McCormick's room.

"Why are there police officers guarding the door, mom?" Kyle asked.

"Because bubbeleh, when they found Mrs. McCormick and Kenny on the side of the road she told them where to find the kidnappers. From what I hear, they caught most of them, but they are still looking for the rest. To be on the safe side these officers are here to protect Kenny and his mom, just in case they might came back for them." Shelia explained.

"Whoa, dude." Stan gasped.

"That sounds pretty serious." Craig commented in a monotone voice.

"Oh, it is." Shelia nodded again. "Now boys, when we are inside try to remain positive, for Kenny's sake, ok?"

"Ok mom." Kyle said to her.

Mrs. Brofloski opened the door, and she and the four boys walked in. Once inside, they saw that both Kenny and Mrs. McCormick each lied on their own bed. They both wore blue hospital pajamas.

Kenny looked like he was sleeping, while his mother sat up talking to her husband. Kevin and Karen sat on chairs beside them. Standing between Kenny and Carol's bed was a woman.

She was a thirty-something year old woman. Her hair was brown, and tied up in a loose bun. She wore a navy blue business skirt and jacket, with a white blouse, and high-heeled shoes that matched her outfit.

The woman turned and smiled at the boys that entered. "Hello, I'm Dr. Nora Lange." She introduced herself. "I'm here to council Mrs. McCormick and Kenny and help them with their experience from the past few days."

"Doctor, huh?" Cartman raised his eyebrow.

"What is wrong with Kenny? We heard that he can't remember anything." Stan asked.

The psychiatrist frowned and looked down at the blond child sleeping beside her.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "This is the worst case of amnesia I've ever seen. There is no head trauma, and I doubt anyone could be brainwashed in just two days. The only thing I can come up with is emotional shock."

"Awe poor Kenny," Kyle sympathized.

"Yeah," Stan added.

Craig said nothing. He kept staring at Kenny as he tried to think of what he could do to help him.

"You can fix him, can't ya, Doctor?" Mrs. McCormick asked hopefully.

"I'll do my best, Mrs. McCormick." Dr. Lange replied.

A small groan grabbed everyone's attention; they turned to notice Kenny waking up. The young boy slowly stirred then opened his eyes. He looked completely confused, especially when he noticed the new faces in the room.

"Hey dude, how are you feeling?" Stan said cheerfully.

"Hello," the blond boy nodded at him. "Do I know you?"

Even though the grownups had warned them, the four boys were still beside themselves when Kenny asked if he knew them.

"W-we're your friends, Kenny." Cartman reminded him. His expression showed real concern.

"F-f-friends...?" Kenny sounded as if the word itself was a foreign language.

"Don't worry; we are here to help you remember." Craig added in a soft tone.

"That's cool, I guess." Kenny smiled, but then frowned. "Who are you, again?"

For the next few hours, and with great patience, everyone in the room talked with Kenny. They tried to rekindle some of his memories with little, to no success. When it came to suppertime, a food-service worker brought trays into the room for the McCormick family. That was the cue for Shelia to take Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Craig to the hospital cafeteria to get their meal.

As they sat and ate, Kyle turned and broke the silence that befell them.

"So Craig, why are so interested in Kenny all of a sudden?" The redheaded boy asked as he swallowed a piece of chicken.

"Exactly what I was thinking..." Cartman mused.

"I have my reasons..." Craig replied as he quietly scooped up some soup with his plastic spoon and slurped it into his mouth. He glanced up at the other three boys and glared. "...And it isn't because I want to suck his balls."

"What-_what_- **what**?!" Mrs. Brofloski sputtered in surprise. She nearly toppled over her plate of food when she heard what the stoic boy said.

"Then what is the reason?" Stan asked, ignoring Shelia's outburst.

With a sigh, Craig placed his spoon on a napkin beside his bowl. It took him a few moments before he finally spoke.

"Last weekend I fell through the ice at Stock's Pond. I would have drowned if Kenny hadn't been there to pull me out." Craig looked up at everyone then continued. "He saved my life, and since then I've been trying to pay him back."

"Wow," Kyle gasped.

"Yeah, _wow_." Stan nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"That is quite a story, Craig, and it is really nice you to want to be here now for your little friend." Mrs. Brofloski commented. She jabbed her plastic fork into her salad and began nibbling on a piece of lettuce.

"Yeah dude, I bet if Kenny starts remembering again, he will really appreciate you being here." Stan nodded with a smile.

"Absolutely," Kyle agreed.

"You guys are _so_ gay." Eric scoffed before shoveling a spoon full of Sheppard's Pie into his mouth.

"Takes one to know one..." Craig muttered sarcastically. He picked up his spoon again and continued to eat his soup.

Stan, Kyle, and Shelia laughed at the stoic boy's comment, while Cartman frowned, and grumbled something in return. Afterwards, the boys and Mrs. Brofloski remained mostly quiet as they finished their meal.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The moment Shelia and the boys returned to the room, Dr. Nora Lange confronted them.

"Boys, Mrs. Brofloski, I have a request. You don't suppose you boys could stay the night here with Kenny. I think your presence here is really helping him right now." The psychiatrist said hopefully.

"Let me get this straight." Cartman pondered aloud. "You want us to spend the night here..._in_ the hospital." He tone sounded disgusted with the thought.

"Well, I don't know..." Mrs. Brofloski muddled over the request.

"Oh, please mom. I want to be here if that means I can help Kenny." Kyle insisted.

Both Craig and Stan nodded in agreement.

"Fine, if you guys are staying the night then I might as well join in." Cartman groaned, rolling his eyes skyward. He then turned and pointed an accusing finger at Kenny. "But don't you ever say I don't do anything for you."

Kenny looked back, confused by his comment.

"Ok boys, but you all need to talk to your parents for permission first." Shelia finally agreed.

"Great, I'll go get some board games from the children's room, while you three go call your parents." The psychiatrist clasped her hands eagerly before walking out of the room.

"Did you hear that, Kenny? This is like having a slumber party with your little friends." Carol chirped.

"I have no idea what that means, but ok." Kenny shrugged.

He turned to see the friends he never knew he had. Each of them looked up at him with a smile of hope. Slowly Kenny returned the smile back at them.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Once again, I thank those of you that have been supporting this story so far. I appreciate your comments as well.

In addition, I actually did a bit of research for the chanting and here is the translation:

K'aem'nhi kh'rn K'aem'nhi kh'r K'aem'nhi kh'rmnu.

(The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be again.)

Fha'gnu Zy-d'syn!

(Behold the Beginning and ending of (time) dimensions!)

Si'n Si'ra S'alk!

(Time that was, time that is, time that shall be!)

I'a Krell!

(Hail Key!)

Again, thank you.


	8. The Chase is On

**Chapter Eight - The Chase is On**

A black Chevrolet pulled up along a curb about two blocks from Hell's Pass Hospital. Inside, five shadowed figures sat and waited. One of the cloaked men in the back seat spoke first.

"According to my sources, the Key is in the hospital, Brother Jim." He said.

"You know, we wouldn't be in this mess if that traitor back at the house hadn't released the mother in the first place. Now we are out here, running from the cops, and wasting time tracking down the one thing that can set free our glorious god." Another man in the back seat complained.

"Relax; we still have five hours before the window of opportunity closes." The man behind the wheel assured them. "Everyone have your tranquilizer guns loaded?" He asked, lifting up his weapon.

The other four men nodded their heads in response.

"Alright," the leader cheered, "let's go." He added before opening the car door and stepping out.

The other four men followed his lead, and stepped out of the car.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Craig sat up on the hospital guest cot. First, he glanced up at Kenny and saw the boy sleeping soundly. He then scanned the room and saw Kevin, Karen, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman snoozing quietly in their cots. Looking up at the other hospital bed, he noticed that Stuart McCormick shared the space with his wife.

With a sigh, Craig glanced up at the wall clock and saw the time was five minutes past one. It was at that moment he realized why he woke up in the first place. The uncomfortable pressured feeling he got in his bladder made him want to get up and go.

As he crawled out of bed, Craig nearly jumped hearing sound of Mr. McCormick voice.

"Where are you going?"

"Just to the bathroom," Craig answered as he shoved his feet into his shoes and headed out of the room.

He walked past two new offers, obvious the night shift, and continued down the hall. As Craig slipped into the bathroom and closed the door, the elevator doors opened down the hall. Five cloaked men walked out. A nurse stepped out from behind her station to confront the men.

"I'm sorry I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Visiting hours start at ten in the morning and end at nine." She stated.

"Well, that won't do, I'm afraid. You see, ten O'clock is just too late for us." The Cult leader chinned calmly.

Before the head nurse or any of the other nurses standing behind the counter could react, the cult members pulled out their tranquilizer guns and shot each of them down.

Down the hall, the officers standing guard took notice of the action in front of the nurses' station and ran over.

"Hey, hold it right there!" One of them shouted.

The cloaked men turned and two of them fired their weapons, instantly hitting the officers with tranquilizer darts. As the officers hit the floor, the men continued towards the room where their Key lied.

Stuart McCormick heard the action and rushed out the door as the men arrived. He was about to attack when he felt a prick of one of the darts hit him in his stomach.

"Shit," he muttered as he fell.

Three of the Cult members started the chant.

_K'aem'nhi kh'rn K'aem'nhi kh'r K'aem'nhi kh'rmnu. _

_Fha'gnu Zy-d'syn! _

_Si'n Si'ra S'alk! _

_I'a Krell! _

"What the hell is going on?" Stan asked sitting up in the guest cot.

Kyle and Eric started to blink their eyes open, as well as Kevin and Karen. Before any of them could jump out of their cots, the Cult members shot them with tranquilizers. Mrs. McCormick woke up with a start. She hoped out of her bed, and stood in front of Kenny's still sleeping form.

"I will not let you take my baby!" She shouted.

"You do not have a choice, my dear." The Cult leader cooed. He lifted his weapon and fired.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Craig heard some kind of commotion going on outside in the hall, and as he was drying his hands, it all seemed to get quiet. He was curious at what went on, and tossed the damp paper towel into the trash. It wasn't till he opened the door and turned into the hall that he saw fived cloaked figures leading Kenny out of the room. He quickly noticed the two officers, and Stuart McCormick lying on the floor. Looking back up, he realized that Kenny walked as if he were sleepwalking. He followed the cloaked men up to the elevator. When the doors slid open that was when Craig decided to react. He ran up as fast as he could towards to elevator.

"What the..." one of the men sputtered when he saw Craig rushing up to them.

The doors started closing as Craig grabbed Kenny's hand and pulled him out.

"_**NO**_!" All five men cried when the doors shut and the elevator moved down to the main floor.

"That was close." Craig sighed a moment of relief. He turned and saw Kenny looking like he was asleep, however, his eyes were still opened.

"Kenny! Wake up!" He shouted as he shook the blond boy.

Kenny blinked a few times before looking around. He suddenly became startled as the environment he was in appeared alien to him. The moment he noticed Craig in front of him, Kenny let out a scream, and backed away against the wall.

"It's ok, Kenny." Craig pleaded, grasping the other boy's shoulders. "It's me, Craig, remember? We played board games with your family, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman earlier, and we also made fun of Cartman's fat ass."

Kenny looked confused as he processed the information. He started to recall the events of earlier that evening. With a nervous chuckle, he started to remember some things Craig had told him.

"Oh yeah," he breathed.

A motor noise coming from the elevator had Craig realizing that the cloaked men were returning. He reached down and grabbed Kenny's hand.

"Come on, I got to get you out of here. It's not safe." He said.

Kenny did not resist as Craig pulled him in a fast sprint towards the exit staircase.

They ran down one flight of stairs when the boys heard three of the men running up the stairs towards them. Thinking fast, Craig quickly grabbed the knob of the door beside them, threw it open, and ran down the empty hall.

"There they are!" Craig heard one of the men hollered behind them.

Not letting go of Kenny's hand, the two boys ran around the corner and ended up at a dead end. Before the men caught up, Craig saw an opened door to his right. Seeing that there were no other options, he ran inside with Kenny, and locked it shut.

"We know you are in there, boy, so be good and come on out with our Key!" One of the men shouted from the other side of the door.

Still catching his breath, Craig looked around the hospital supply room. He saw spare towels, blankets, patient pajama gowns, even some band-aids, and toilet paper - nothing that would be of any use in this situation. Hearing the men banging up against the door did not make him feel any better.

"C-Craig..." Kenny whimpered. "I'm scared."

"I know Kenny," Craig nodded before turning to his friend. "Me too..." he admitted.

That was when something caught his eye. Looking up he saw an air vent. The grille cover looked big enough so when pried open the hole would be able to fit him and Kenny's body size easily. It was their only hope of escape.

Craig climbed up on the shelf rack all the way up to the top, and began tugging on the grille. Luck just happened to be on their side, the gate was loose - perhaps the maintenance person of the hospital had not sealed it tight enough. Whatever the reason was, Craig was not going to argue. He started yanking roughly on it until the vent cover came off.

He turned to Kenny, and waved his hand upward. "Come, let's go." He said.

Kenny stood looking up at Craig. He seemed hesitant to climb up the shelf rack. Almost able to read the blond boy's mind, Craig's face softened.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall, I promise. Here, take my hand." He said, extending his hand down to Kenny.

Slowly, Kenny reached up and let Craig grab hold of his hand. As the raven-haired boy gently tugged him up, Kenny started climbing up each shelf. Another loud bang came from the door, this time it sounded like some of the hinges cracked. Kenny gasped loudly at the sound and turned his head to look.

"Kenny look at _me_, ok. Not at the door." Craig instructed. "You're almost there."

Following Craig's guidance, Kenny successfully climbed to the top. Craig then ushered him into the air vent. Before Craig was able to go into the vent, the door broke at the hinges and flew open. The men spotted him on top rack looking back at them. Craig lifted his hand and stuck up his middle finger at them.

"Adios losers," he said then hopped out of sight into the air vent.

"God damn it!" One of the men shouted discouragingly.

"Awe," the second man sighed with a frustrated growl.

"Brother Jim is not going to like this." The third man groaned.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

An hour and half almost passed, but Craig still waited with Kenny in the air vent. Every so often, they would move further down, but stopped when they heard echoes of some of the men talking from one of the distant rooms. Sometimes they would hear chanting echoing through the vents, which caused Kenny to react in a numbed state. Though Craig did not understand what was going on, he did figure out whatever was happening was endangering Kenny's life.

Craig wanted to make sure it was safe. He hoped that perhaps the cult members left the hospital already. The stoic boy let out a long breath to relax his nerves a little. It had been quiet for at least fifteen minutes. He glanced over and noticed Kenny looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Hey," Craig spoke out softly.

The sudden sound made Kenny jump and look up with wide eyes.

"Relax; I just want to say it sounds quiet enough that we can get out of here." Craig explained calmly.

The tired blond boy nodded his head and followed Craig to the closes vent opening. The coast was clear, so Craig pushed against the grille. Like the one in the storage room, Craig found it easy to open.

"Looks like the maintenance is lacking around here," he joked. When he looked back at Kenny, he realized his humour went slightly above the blond boy's head.

Carefully he dropped the grille on the counter below then slowly he made his way out and landed beside it. Craig picked up the vent covering and moved it aside. He then looked around the room. It would appear to be some sort of lab. The room appeared quiet enough so he turned his attention back up to the vent opening.

"Ok the coast is clear, come on out." He said.

Kenny poked his head out and nervously looked around.

"It'll be ok. Just like how I did it. You can do this Kenny." Craig told him encouragingly.

A little unsure, but at the same time he did not want to be crawling around in the vents anymore, Kenny turned and backed out through the opened gate. As he was about to let go and drop to the counter below, he felt a sharp sting on the palm of his right hand. He let go in a hurry, dropped down, and landed with a thud.

"_Ow-ow-ow_," Kenny cried as he held his right wrist and looked down at the bleeding cut on the palm of his hand.

Craig leaned over to inspect the wound.

"It doesn't look too bad, but to be safe I better clean that up for you." He said in an emotionless tone.

The young Tucker boy walked Kenny towards the sink, grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser box on the wall, and placed it under a trickle of running water. Once the paper towel was damp enough, he turned and gently took Kenny's wounded hand. With soft strokes, Craig cleaned off any dirt that may cause an infection.

Kenny stared at him intensely as Craig played nurse to his injury.

When Craig was sure that he did a decent job cleaning the wound, he surveyed the area around them until he saw what he was looking for. He walked over to the end of the counter and bent over to pick up a couple of band-aid strips and a tissue.

"Here, hold on to this tissue. It'll help stop the bleeding." He told the trembling boy.

Kenny looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you," he said.

"Ok, let's go." Craig ordered as he jumped off the counter before grabbing Kenny's left hand, and headed out of the room.

The two boys almost made it to the elevator when Craig barely noticed the shadows of two cloaked men coming down from around the corner. They managed to duck behind the nurse's station just as the men came into view.

"We must find the Key soon, Brother." One of them pointed out.

"I agree we don't want to miss our chance to set free the mighty Cthulhu." The other man addressed.

The elevator doors opened and the men walk through it. Confused, Craig turned to Kenny, who looked quiet somber. He then glanced around the corner to see if the men were gone.

"The Key," he wondered aloud. "That is the second time we heard these guys mention that, and on top of that, what's a Cthulhu?"

"Cthulhu is the high priest of the Old Ones."

Craig spun his head around when he heard that Kenny spoke.

"He and the other Old Ones are imprisoned in the sunken city of R'lyeh." Kenny continues to explain, though in a trance-like state. "The Gates are what keep them there. When Cthulhu is released he will unleash a thousand years of darkness and chaos onto the world."

"Ok that defiantly doesn't sound good. Do you know what this Key is that they're talking about?" Craig asked.

Kenny blinked then looked up at Craig. "The _Key_ is me. I was created from a small part of the One that is both the Gate Keeper and Key. My sole purpose of existing is to open the Gates of R'lyeh for the Cult of Cthulhu. The window of opportunity to open the Gates is now and will close by dawn."

"What happens after you open the Gate?" Craig asked with a worried expression.

"I will simply cease to exist, and Cthulhu will awaken early to conquer the world of the living." Kenny shrugged nonchalantly.

An ill feeling crept in Craig's stomach. He swallowed a huge lump down his throat before speaking. "Don't worry; I won't let them get you. You won't be opening any gates while I'm around, got it."

Kenny nodded and said, "Ok," to him.

"Alright, how's your hand? Do you want me to put these band-aids on before we get out of here?" Craig asked as he pulled out the two band-aids from his pants pocket.

"It's ok, it doesn't hurt anymore." Kenny shook his head at him.

"What are you talking about; you just cut yourself coming out of the air vent. It's probably still bleeding."

"No, it stopped now, see." Kenny lifted his hands, removed the bloodstained tissue, and showed his right palm to Craig. The hand was completely healed not even a scratch remained.

"_No way_," Craig gasped.

"Some people say having powers of an immortal is cool, but it isn't. There is no one else that I know of has these abilities, other than me. Sometimes I feel alone that I can't talk to anyone about it." Kenny looked up and smiled at Craig. Craig did not say anything, just stared in awe.

"It is nice of you to try, and protect me like this." Kenny continued. "Stan and Kyle - and sometimes Cartman, are usually the ones who try to look out for me, but thanks to the cult members, they can't right now." He paused for a moment to take in a breath and let out a sigh. "Craig, no matter what happens, I want to thank you. You could say we are even now from me saving your life last weekend."

"Wait, you're starting to remember." Craig nearly leapt for joy for noticing that fact.

Kenny lowered his eyes with a subtle glance to the side. "Sort of," he whispered with a shrug. "There is a lot that's still hazy, but I do know my own name, family, and friends - Oh, not only that, I now understand what I am too."

"I'm glad to hear it." Craig sat up and quickly looked around before returning his attention back to Kenny. "We better get going; I don't think those assholes will give up too easily." He said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

Kenny nodded and got up to follow him down the hall towards the staircase exit.

The boys made it down to the next floor, but before they had a chance to run down the next set of stairs, the exit door opened, and coincidentally, the same three Cult members from earlier rushed through. In an instance, they spotted the boys and two of the men grabbed them. The boys let out a scream of surprise as they made a futile attempt to wriggle themselves free.

"Gotcha!" One of the men shouted as he grabbed Kenny.

"Brother Nelson, call Brother Jim, and Brother Richard. Tell them we have the Key and the little shit that kept it from us." The second cloaked man ordered as he kept his hold on Craig.

As they made their way down the stairs, the third man pulled out his cell phone and placed the call.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The three men brought Kenny and Craig outside and met their fellow cult members in front of the black Chevrolet.

"I must admit you gave us quite a chase, boy." The lead Cult member sneered at Craig. He glanced up at the man holding him. "Kill him," he ordered.

Craig's eyes grew wide with fear the instant he heard his life could end right then.

"Please don't hurt him," Kenny pleaded.

"Well, look who thinks it has a right to tell us what to do." Jim McElroy chuckled as he crouched down to eye level with Kenny.

"I'll do what you want. I'll open the Gates. Just let Craig go." The blond boy bargained with them in a desperate tone.

"Kenny! No!" Craig spat before the man holding him reached up and covered his mouth with his hand.

The Cult leader shook his head, "You'll do that anyways, whether you cooperate or not." He pointed out.

"Fine, but I'm begging you, please don't kill him." Kenny pleaded once more.

"Alright, we won't kill him." The Cult leader bowed his head to Kenny. He then smiled wickedly, turning back to Craig. "We'll just offer him as a nice snack for Cthulhu instead."

Again, Craig attempted to protest against the person holding him. He let out a muffled scream in the hand covering his mouth.

"Come now, you have a gate to open." McElroy held up a Cthulhu's Pendent near Kenny's face.

The pendent's eyes began glowing red, causing Kenny to go into a trance once more.

"Yes, time to open the gates." Kenny murmured.


	9. Open the Gate

**Author's Note: **Hi Everyone. Thank you all for your support and I'm glad you are enjoying this story so far. I'm almost finished it - just one more chapter after this, whoo-whoo!

I realize that there has been a delay in updating this chapter. Well, the reason is I've been quite busy in preparing to go to Sakura Con in Seattle, WA on April 18-20. I'll be presenting artwork based for my animated series called "Tales of Mytherwrel".

Just a warning, the last chapter won't be updated until after the 20th. Please enjoy chapter nine...and as usual, I look forward to your comments!

**Chapter Nine - Open the Gate**

Craig wondered how his life ended up in this predicament. A week ago, he would never have seen himself risking his own life to rescue someone else's. He normally enjoyed quieter, less adventurous situations. However, a friend needed him, a friend that once risked his life to save his own.

With great effort, Craig tried the best he could to keep Kenny away from the crazy men in hooded cloaks. So much good that did, now he's the one in danger and the person he wanted to protect is about to sacrifice his life to open some invisible gate that would unleash an evil to this world.

_'Some hero I turned out to be,'_ he mentally punished himself with a heavy sigh.

Craig felt the vice grip on his shoulders from the man holding him. He jerked his shoulders forward to no avail. The cloaked man behind him gave a forced squeeze to assured Craig he was not been let go for any reason.

"Ow, quit it!" Craig complained.

"You're not going anywhere, boy." The man said aggressively.

Craig looked up to see the Cult leader guiding Kenny in the middle of strange symbols painted on the ground. He grew worried when he saw that Kenny was walking in a hypnotic state, as he did back in the hospital. It all seemed to start when the Cult leader pulled out the Cthulhu pendent. Craig watched fearfully as the cloaked man held out the pendent in front of Kenny once again as he chanted:

_Through strange angles are the Gates  
Through which my ancient Lord may come,  
Come forth, and increase in all your strength!  
The very curves of space shall break and be undone  
And open to your kind who move in primal serenity  
And dwell forever between space and beyond time. _

The red eyes of the pendent glowed with intense eeriness. Craig didn't have to be a genius to figure out that that pendent was causing Kenny to go along with this charade like a mindless zombie.

"In a mindless, black abyssal sea," Kenny began chanting in a hypnotic state. "A Crawling Chaos howls in Eternal Night."

As soon as Craig saw Kenny lift up a dagger that was when he knew, he had to take action - no matter the cause.

"Kenny...! _**No**_... Snap out of it!" He screamed. Craig attempted, once again, to squirm out of his captor's hold.

"Stay _still_! This is your final warning!" The man growled. He reached his hand over to cover the boy's mouth, only to have it bitten down hard with small sharp teeth.

"Ow! _**Son-of-a-bitch**_," the man spat. He reached out to recapture the boy, but it was too late. Craig was half way down the field, and headed straight for the Cult leader.

"Break the Barrier of Light, I set you free!" Kenny continued his absent-minded chant, only this time a single tear ran down his face. "All will be stricken, as if blind, by this One Whose Being cannot be." As he spoke the last word, Kenny started to cut the inside of his left wrist, starting from the base of his hand and slowly sliced down towards his elbow.

Craig leapt up to grab the Cthulhu pendent from the leader's hand and instantly slammed it against a nearby rock. It shattered into several pieces.

"You little bastard...! How _dare_ you!" Jim growled, as he charged after him.

Dodging his reach, Craig ran straight for Kenny.

"Black Lord of Chaos come unfold." The blond boy extended his left hand out to allow the blood to drip from his fresh wound.

Before a single drop made it to the ground, Craig tackled Kenny, and both boys tumbled out of the circle and away from the drawn symbols. The second they hit the ground, Craig felt a sharp sting on his forearm. He instantly slapped his hand over to what he soon discovered was a cut. On the ground beside him, sat the dagger Kenny had used to cut his own arm.

Craig looked up to see Kenny slowly coming out of his trance.

"Kenny!" Craig shouted his name again. Before he could do anything else, someone grabbed him from behind and yanked him up off the ground.

"You lousy _piece of __**shit**_, look what you did!" Jim spat as he shook Craig violently. "I will kill you myself!"

Craig let out a yelp, as he tried to pry himself out of the man's grip.

Dazed, Kenny could still hear all the yelling and screaming beside him. He attempted to stand up, but fell forward instead. His bloody hand landed on the edge of the symbol on the ground. A wave of energy overtook Kenny instantly. He rose to his feet, and opened his eyes that began to have an eerie glow to them.

"**STOP**!" He bellowed.

The sound of Kenny's inhuman voice had everyone in the area froze in their tracks. They turned to look at the small blond boy in confusion, including Craig. As soon as all eyes were on Kenny, he began to chant aloud:

_I am the Key and Guardian of the Gate.  
Past, Present and Future, all is one in Yog-Sothoth._

Before anyone could respond, he continued. "Those whom requested the Gates to be open are _**denied**_!"

"Wait," Jim raised his hand up and pleaded.

"You hard of hearing mortal?" Kenny cocked his head to one side. "First you cast a spell that stole that which belongs to me, and then placed it in this child," he said, addressing himself, "All in the name of Cthulhu, so you can open the Gates without _my_ consent." Kenny spoke in a bitter tone.

"You _are_ Yog-Sothoth, so that means you know that the Gates are supposed to open again. The great Cthulhu will rise and rule this world once more." The cult leader described.

"Only I know _**when**_ the Gates are too open, and I say it is _**too**_ _**soon**_." Kenny sneered. "...You may have found a small window of opportunity, and at a different location, yes, _but_ that will close in a moment. In fact, the sun is rising right now." He pointed up to the eastern horizon.

"No, you can't do this - not when we worked so hard to get this far!" Jim cried out desperately. He lifted his gun in a threatening manner; however, this did not deter Kenny.

"Your foolish argument holds no grounds with me." Kenny sighed. His eyes glowed more intense as he continued, "This pointless ceremony is _done_." He waved his hand aggressively forward from left to right, causing a gust of wind that knocked down all the cloaked men. The power seemed to have passed Craig, and left him standing. He looked at Kenny in awe.

Without warning, Kenny's body swayed slightly before collapsing forward onto the ground.

"Whoa, that was weird." Kenny groaned as his head cleared. He glanced down at his injured arm and noticed that most of the cut was starting to heal.

A sound of sirens echoed through the trees. Everyone in the field knew that the police were on their way.

Craig helped Kenny back up onto his feet. "Come on, let's go." He said. Kenny nodded and both boys turned to walk towards the path that would lead them to the road.

"Hold it," the Cult leader spat. The two young boys stopped and looked over their shoulders.

"You," Jim pointed accusingly to Craig. "This is your _fault_! If you hadn't interfered, our Dark Lord would have risen and began conquering this world, as he is meant to be."

The rest of the cult members behind him stood up, and shook the cobwebs out from their heads. They each looked on with worry in their eyes.

"Ah, weren't you paying attention when Kenny just said the Gates are not supposed to open now?" Craig explained.

"Yog-Sothoth," Kenny said weakly.

"Huh," Craig turned in confusion to his blond friend.

"That is the name of the God that spoke through me. He is the one and true Guardian of the Gates. I'm only a small link that was created to be a, sort of jerry-rigged version of the Key." Kenny explained tiredly. The look in his eyes showed he suffered a lot of physical and emotional stress.

"It's ok now," Craig said soothingly. "It's over, isn't it?" Kenny nodded an affirmative.

"No it isn't," The Cult Leader spat angrily. "I'll kill you for interfering!" The man growled, aiming his gun at Craig.

"Jim no, don't do it!" One of the cloaked men pleaded.

"Yeah, like the kid said...it's over!" The other said upon hearing police sirens drawing nearer up the dirt road.

"No, it wasn't supposed to end like this. This kid will die for his intrusion." Jim snapped and pulled the trigger.

The split second the gun fired, Kenny leapt in front of his friend and took the bullet in his back. He instantly felt the hot lead burning through his skin and puncher through his left lung. This would be a fatal wound. The force of the bullet caused Kenny to be hurdled up against Craig, and both boys fell back onto the ground. Kenny swallowed hard before looking up at Craig.

"Kenny, no..." Craig choked.

"I'm sorry...You won't remember..." Kenny gasped as he explained. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, falling into an eternal sleep.

"Kenny...?" The blue clad boy called out, but got no reply.

"_Damn_, I missed." Jim hissed. He went to aim his gun again, but stopped by an authority voice.

"Drop the gun and put your hands up in the air!" An officer shouted, he and eleven other men in uniform jumped out and surrounded the field. Each one pointed a gun at the cloaked men in the area.

As eleven of the officers arrested the remaining cult members, the twelfth officer walked up to Craig and Kenny.

"Please help him," Craig pleaded to the uniformed man, tears threatened to escape from his eyes.

The officer reached down to check the blond boy's pulse. He found none and shook his head before looking back up at Craig.

"I'm sorry son; there isn't anything that can be done. He's gone." He told him.

Stricken with grief, Craig glanced down at his deceased friend. The tears rolled freely down his cheeks.

"We got here as soon as we could. When the officers at the hospital woke up, along with the other victims, they called us straight away. It's obvious we didn't get here soon enough, though." The officer sighed with regret.

Craig sniffed back some tears as he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his right arm.

"Come on, let's get you home." The officer suggested.

Reluctantly, Craig lowered Kenny's body to the ground, allowed the officer to guide him to his feet, and walked him off the field.


End file.
